{"id":832,"date":"2026-05-30T07:08:11","date_gmt":"2026-05-30T07:08:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=832"},"modified":"2026-05-30T07:08:11","modified_gmt":"2026-05-30T07:08:11","slug":"war-and-peace-iran-still-marching-toward-americas-world-cup","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/homebuyerrelocation.com\/?p=832","title":{"rendered":"War and peace: Iran still marching toward America\u2019s World Cup"},"content":{"rendered":"
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World Cup goals won\u2019t end America\u2019s war in Iran. Undaunted, the Iranian soccer team is planning an unprecedented move this summer: playing in a major athletic competition hosted by a wartime opponent.<\/p>\n

Read more Doug Burgum blasts news reports about Trump\u2019s renovation of Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool<\/a><\/p>\n

During the Cold War, the U.S. boycotted the 1980 Moscow Olympics because of Russia\u2019s invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The Soviet Union then retaliated and skipped the 1984 Los Angeles Games.<\/p>\n

Several sports historians said this summer\u2019s World Cup would be the first they could think of that featured one belligerent hosting another\u2019s athletes during a military conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs far as I know, this exact combination would be a novelty,\u201d Victoria Harms, a history professor who specializes in sports at Johns Hopkins University, said of Iran\u2019s participation in the World Cup.<\/p>\n

The U.S. is hosting the June 11-July 19 soccer tournament through a joint bid with Mexico and Canada.<\/p>\n

Iran was originally scheduled to set up a base camp in Arizona and play three group-stage matches on the West Coast. Then came Operation Epic Fury on Feb. 28.<\/p>\n

The off-pitch conflict sent the World Cup\u2019s plans into question.<\/p>\n

International sporting competitions have long overlapped with global politics. Competition organizers such as FIFA and international relations organizations such as the U.N. tout the peacemaking possibilities of competitions such as the World Cup and the Olympics.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll you need is a ball for people to come together,\u201d U.N. Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed said as the organization launched its \u201cFootball for the Goals\u201d initiative with FIFA in 2022.<\/p>\n

Historians such as Ms. Harms aren\u2019t easily convinced, though.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe idea of peacetime athletic spectacles, whether it\u2019s the FIFA World Cup or the Olympics, is more myth than anything else,\u201d she said in an email to The Washington Times. \u201cWhile \u2019peace\u2019 is inscribed in the Olympic Charter, FIFA has always been more about money and less pretense about values and principles.\u201d<\/p>\n

FIFA expects to generate $13 billion in revenue from this year\u2019s event, thanks to the 5 million fans expected to attend. The cheapest tickets for Iran\u2019s three group-stage matches average about $300 on popular ticket resale sites, even though fans from Iran won\u2019t be permitted to travel to the U.S. because of a travel ban.<\/p>\n

Can\u2019t stay here<\/strong><\/p>\n

Iran\u2019s World Cup participation has been an issue since the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran began.<\/p>\n

FIFA has consistently said the military conflict would not have any impact on the tournament. The organization refused to reschedule or relocate Iran\u2019s matches. It said the logistical lift would be too costly and complicated, given the short timeline.<\/p>\n

But President Trump made his opinion clear. Though the Iranian soccer team would be \u201cwelcome,\u201d he urged it not to come.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really don\u2019t believe it is appropriate that they be there, for their own life and safety,\u201d Mr. Trump said on social media in March.<\/p>\n

FIFA officials have not publicly wavered. They never outlined a plan to replace Iran in the newly expanded, 48-team tournament, even as representatives from Iran have openly questioned their options.<\/p>\n

Iranian officials had asked FIFA to move their first three matches from the U.S. to Canada or Mexico.<\/p>\n

The request was denied.<\/p>\n

The Mexican government stepped in this week to assuage some concerns, agreeing to host Iran\u2019s training camp. The squad was originally expected to practice in Tucson, Arizona. Now, the players will call Tijuana home throughout the tournament.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States doesn\u2019t want the Iranian national team to stay overnight in the United States,\u201d Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum told reporters.<\/p>\n

She said a FIFA representative had inquired whether the Iranians would be able to stay overnight in Mexico.<\/p>\n

Read more Trump administration spending $5 million on gold-plated horses near Lincoln Memorial<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we said, \u2018Yes, no problem. We have no issue with that,\u2019\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Iranian officials are urging the U.S. to issue multi-entry visas for its players, coaches and support staff. The State Department has banned travel from Iran, though it will provide exemptions for the World Cup.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey can\u2019t bring a bunch of [Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps] terrorists into our country and pretend that they are journalists and athletic trainers,\u201d Secretary of State Marco Rubio told reporters in April.<\/p>\n

Military service is required for men in Iran, and some members of the Iranian soccer team served in the IRGC.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll players and technical staff, especially those who served their military service in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, should be granted visas without problems,\u201d Football Federation Islamic Republic of Iran President Mehdi Taj said this month, according to Iranian media.<\/p>\n

Mr. Taj further noted that his team would participate \u201cwithout retreating from our beliefs, culture and convictions.\u201d<\/p>\n

The U.S. will still host each of Iran\u2019s group stage matches: a tilt with Egypt in Seattle and games against Belgium and New Zealand in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

Ironically, the match in Seattle was designated as an LGBTQ Pride event by local officials. Organizers said they would not drop the theme, even though homosexuality is criminalized in Egypt and Iran.<\/p>\n

Historical angle<\/strong><\/p>\n

Regardless of their performance in the tournament, the Iranian players will make history. There is no recent evidence of a major national team intentionally joining a sporting competition hosted by a wartime enemy.<\/p>\n

When Nazi Germany hosted the Summer Olympics in 1936, Adolf Hitler had not started his military campaign across Europe.<\/p>\n

Russia hosted the Winter Olympics in Sochi in February 2014, invading Crimea, which was part of Ukraine, four days after the closing ceremony but before the Paralympics started in March.<\/p>\n

Ukraine did not qualify for the 2018 World Cup in Russia, and both nations avoided any awkward matches after they both failed to qualify for the 2022 tournament in Qatar after the Russians invaded Ukraine.<\/p>\n

The World Cup \u2014 and the accompanying media circus \u2014 has a history of ignoring political storms, not mediating them.<\/p>\n

Argentina hosted the World Cup in 1978 even as the nation\u2019s military dictatorship used the spectacle in an attempt to establish its legitimacy on a global stage. The Argentine squad ultimately won the tournament \u2014 and the fair play award \u2014 amid claims of match-fixing.<\/p>\n

Russia and Qatar, hosts of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups, respectively, fought their own issues. Russia faced criticism for its laws persecuting gay people, while Qatar drew concerns about its alleged human rights violations, including unsafe working conditions for migrant workers.<\/p>\n

They set a precedent. Off-field debates dominated conversations leading up to the events.<\/p>\n

But now, once the action starts with soccer stars such as Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe, those discussions take a back seat.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the end, World Cups tend to be great successes for the regimes,\u201d soccer writer David Conn told the Columbia Journalism Review. \u201cThe World Cup in Qatar: all those years of critiquing and investigations was worth it for four weeks of the greatest game on earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

Now the question is whether the U.S.-Iran war leaves a cloud over this year\u2019s tournament.<\/p>\n

Read more Congressional report reveals China\u2019s continuing nuclear, missile proliferation<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2022 This article is based in part on wire-service reports.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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